'It's surreal': Big Issue vendor sees his own portrait at powerful homelessness exhibition

A Big Issue vendor has been reunited with a portrait of himself on the street at a new photography exhibition focusing on homelessness.

Hammersmith seller Dave Martin saw the poignant snap captured by photographer Marc Davenant as part of his Outsiders project.

The powerful portrait series featured on the cover of the Big Issue back in 2022 after documenting the reality of homelessness in modern-day Britain. Since then, it has been on the road around the UK – and Martin got a chance to see Davenant’s photo of him at St Albans Museum + Gallery where the snaps will be on show until 16 March. 

“It was just surreal,” said Martin after seeing himself captured in the portrait. “You never get used to these things when you see yourself.

“The picture of me – I am sort of in my own world and looking a bit down. I think that’s how Davenant wanted to portray people.”

Acclaimed documentary photographer and award-winning artist Davenant spent six years capturing portraits of people experiencing homelessness and living in substandard housing in stark black and white style.

A number of Big Issue vendors feature in the project alongside Martin, with photos taken using a mix of digital and vintage film cameras and presented alongside poignant, personal testimonies.

The project was inspired by a man called Stephen who shared his story of becoming homeless with Davenant in Soho, London, in 2016. The photographer travelled across the country from London to Manchester and Glasgow to Hertfordshire to cover homelessness in Britain.

“I was determined to bring out the humanity of people in my portraits. The worst thing about being on the street is being ignored and treated like something less than human,” said Davenant.

“I wanted to amplify the voices of those people with lived experience, break down barriers and encourage members of the public to interact with people who are experiencing homelessness.”

He added: “The goal was to change public perception of those who are experiencing homelessness and substandard living, share their remarkable and harrowing stories and encourage the public to see them as individuals rather than objects to be avoided.”

Martin is no stranger to an exhibition himself, having shown off his artwork at Prince William’s Homewards programme’s Homelessness: Reframed show last summer.

But he was particularly struck by Davenant’s photos.

Martin added: “The pictures of the Outsiders really make an impact. The picture itself tells the story. 

“I spoke to one of the women in the photos and she was living in a box room with mould and she was in tears. That always stuck out for me.” 

Outsiders is a free exhibition by Marc Davenant and runs in the Assembly Room at St Albans Museum + Gallery from 17 January until 16 March 2025. The project is funded by Arts Council England. For more information on where else the Outsiders project will be touring, head to Marc Davenant’s website.

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